Pardon Chris Williams

Montana medical cannabis provider Chris Williams is facing more than 80 years in federal prison for operating distribution centers legal under state law. Take action today to tell President Obama to pardon him.

Out of over 70 compassionate caregivers indicted nationwide by the Obama Administration, Chris Williams is one of just four brave souls to take their case all the way to trial. By resisting federal pressure to plead guilty, Chris has entered into a tense showdown with the U.S. Government over its raids on State-compliant cannabis providers. Like other caregivers convicted at trial, Chris was not allowed to defend himself by telling the jury about his compliance with State laws or reference his Constitutional rights as a Montanan.

U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen ruled that state law is irrelevant in cases involving the federal Controlled Substances Act, which meant that Chris was not allowed to argue that he strictly followed Montana’s medical marijuana law. On September 27, 2012, Chris was found guilty of eight federal felony charges including conspiracy to manufacture, possess and distribute marijuana.

Chris co-owned Montana Cannabis along with three others, managing the company’s greenhouse in Helena. Montana Cannabis was destroyed along with dozens of other State law compliant businesses throughout Montana in a highly coordinated, one-day federal sweep in March 2011. Chris was denied release on bail pending appeal and is currently in federal custody awaiting his sentencing hearing, scheduled for January 4, 2013. Chris faces a mandatory minimum of more than 90 years in prison.

[Advocates believe that Chris may have been targeted for his refusal to buckle to federal intimidation and for his role in suing the Obama Administration over its medical marijuana policy, a civil case which is currently pending before the federal Ninth Circuit, the same court that will hear his criminal appeal.]